


For My People

by TheReluctantBadger



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Mild Angst, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:07:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21734239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheReluctantBadger/pseuds/TheReluctantBadger
Summary: Written for the prompt: “I don’t fight for a cause, I fight for the people.”
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 26
Kudos: 112
Collections: Gendrya Gift Exchange 2019





	For My People

**Author's Note:**

  * For [valsore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/valsore/gifts).



Gendry groaned deeply, forcing his shoulder to roll against the shooting pain that ran through it. It hadn’t yet been quite right since they had thrown him roughly into the cell. But, then again, why should they waste a healer on him? He had been left in the dungeon for nearly a week now, making it very obvious that Lord Fell cared very little for his hostage.

The rebellion was blazing through the southern reaches of Westeros before Gendry had enough time to catch wind of it. And it surely wasn’t enough time to be wary of things such as attempts on his life and kidnapping for ransom. But he supposed that things like that were to be expected when you’re Lord Paramount.

Suddenly there was a commotion somewhere in the dungeons. Not much could be seen beyond the light of the lanterns that were hung outside of the cell, but the sounds of yells and loud crashes informed Gendry that something big was happening.

But, just as soon as it started, it ceased. Silence. It was beginning to make Gendry nervous. Especially when it was followed by the sound of whistling.

Gendry pulled himself up and peered through the bars. At first he saw no one, the lively whistling the only indication that he wasn't alone down there. Soon, though, a figure began to form out of the darkness as it walked towards him. 

The man was tall, taller even than Gendry, with a thick gut to match. His lips were pursed in tune above a patchy beard, the brown hair on his head nearly touching his shoulders. One hand carried a broad axe, while the other was merrily swinging a ring of keys. His eyes dropped down to Gendry's face against the bars and his smile grew.

"You the Baratheon lord?" his voice drawled.

"I am." Gendry replied, continuing to eye the man. "Who's asking?"

The man gave a light chuckle and knelt in front of the cell, which did nothing to make him seem any shorter, and began to fumble with the key ring. It wasn't until then that Gendry noticed the warhammer that was strapped to the man's back. He must have noticed Gendry's glance, because he smirked as he tried another key. "She said you know how to use it. Said you'd help us get out if you could."

"Who's 'she'?"

"The wolf."

Before Gendry could even begin to ask a follow up question the man was turning the lock and flinging the door open. A meaty hand was shoved down at him, which Gendry took and found himself being pulled swiftly to his feet. His other hand grabbed onto the bars as he did his best to regain his bearings. By then the man was unstrapping the warhammer from his back.

"Not much time left. You good to fight?" 

Gendry turned his eyes up to find the man easily holding both the axe and warhammer. He nodded, straightening his back and reaching out for the hammer. "Aye. Lead the way."

The larger man grinned and turned the weapon over to Gendry before moving back in the direction he came. Gendry fell into a quick pace behind the man's easy strides, his hammer dropping easily over his shoulder, which seemed to be not quite as sore as it had been minutes before. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face at the pleasant weight of it.

"We got men distracting the soldiers from the outside, but as soon as someone sees us it'll be chaos." the man informed. "Boss came in with me, but I lost her when she took off."

"Can I ask who you are? And who your with?" Gendry asked as they rounded a corner, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. The forms of a handful of men were crumpled on the ground where they passed.

"Ser Enos of The Brotherhood, milord." the man stopped only long enough to give a comically low bow.

"The....Brotherhood?" Gendry spat out.

"Aye." Enos was now leading them up some narrow stone steps.

"Not the Brotherhood Without Banners?" 

"Not the one you remember at least."

Gendry found himself trying to wrap his mind around the statement as they reached the top of the steps. Swinging around to the right took them down a corridor lit with blazing lanterns and containing two more bodies. Enos continued to walk without a care in the world, even resuming his whistling as they picked their way through more doors and hallways. Gendry began to assume that they were taking the back way through the castle. A left turn this time brought them to another lit hallway. But before they had taken three steps down it, the door on the opposite end opened. 

A withered old woman stood there, back bent low under the weight of a large pack. Her wrinkled face turned up to them with gleaming eyes.

Gendry watched as Enos straightened his back and lowered his axe. "When the snows fall and the white winds blow," he stated, cocking his large head.

"The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives." the old woman returned. Her back straightened instantly as a hand came up to her face. Gendry watched with an open mouth as the elderly face was pulled away as if it was a cloth, revealing the bright face of Arya Stark.

"You found him." she observed with a nod towards Gendry.

"Wasn't hard." Enos shrugged and noticeably let his guard down. "Didn't even have him guarded properly."

If Gendry hadn't been so distracted, he may have given a remark about how any number would be too few against the large man. But his eyes were locked on the woman who stood before them. The woman who he had been certain that he would never see again.

Her eyes were on him too. She held that same calm expression that she had at the Grand Council, the last time he ever saw her, his last memory before she had disappeared to everyone she knew. Her hair was longer now and he caught himself in a brief ponder at how it would feel tangled around his fingers. A couple new scars graced the smooth skin of her arms, which were left bare under her light armor. He watched as her eyes darted down to the hammer and then back up to him.

"Good. You have the hammer." was her only words before she passed off the large sack to Enos, who exchanged it with her Needle, pulled out from inside of his trouser leg.

"Aye, I do." Gendry breathed out. "Now do I get the privilege of knowing just what the fuck is going on?"

"You're right, Boss." Enos drawled out, narrowing his eyes at Gendry. "Not always the brightest."

Gendry opened his mouth in a stammer as the two brushed past him to resume the quick pace down the hallway.

"We're rescuing you, stupid." Arya called back before disappearing around a corner.

"Well I gathered that!" Gendry jogged until he had passed Enos and caught up to Arya. "But why?"

"We can discuss it when we get out." she snapped, eyes never once turning over to him. "Now stay sharp."

And, with that, Arya sidestepped out of the way, making room for Enos to pass them as they approached a door. The large man kicked it once, then twice, and the third time it swung wide to open out into a courtyard of chaos.

Guards and servants were running everywhere, illuminated in the dark night by small fires that dotted the ground and buildings. A yell was heard, and Gendry watched as a small flaming lump arched high over the wall. It dropped lower and lower before splatting atop stables and setting the roof ablaze.

"Stay with us!" Arya yelled over the noise, reaching over to grab his shoulder and pull him along. "And keep your hammer ready!"

Gendry could only follow as the two lead him along the buildings, staying to the shadows and out of the way of the general commotion. The distraction of the fires and oncoming shots kept the attention of the guards for the most part. But it was as they came to another doorway when Gendry heard a loud shout behind him. The trio whipped around. They had been spotted.

A handful of guards had been alerted, and were running towards them. Arya brandished Needle, Enos dropped the pack and raised his axe, and Gendry readjusted his grip on the hammer. This he knew.

It was as the guards approached that Gendry found himself stepping forward to meet them in a burst of courage. 

Maybe it was his freedom after the long confinement, or perhaps the knowledge that Arya now stood behind him with her own weapon in hand. Whatever the cause, Gendry's face split into a large smile as the first guard neared. One swing of the hammer was all it took, breaking past the man's sword and connecting with his face in a spray of red.

Yes, this he knew.

Another guard advanced with sword drawn. He too met the same fate. A third was beginning to draw close, but before Gendry could even raise his hammer a body thumped to the ground beside him. Another guard, he found as he turned his head, and Arya was standing over it.

Gendry could hardly believe it, and his smile grew as he whipped around to take out the guard who had now drawn close enough nearly take a strike. But the blunt end of Gendry's hammer to the chest sent him crumpling to the ground.

He wanted to shout with the rapture that was filling his chest! It was all that he wanted, and more! The fires crackling around him, the weight of his hammer in hand, and Arya flicking her sword gracefully to strike down another opponent. Enos was somewhere behind him, or else Gendry could hear his grunts as he surely swung his own weapon, but Gendry kept Arya in his sight. Another flaming heap few over the wall and smacked at the base of a tower. Another guard advanced and was taken down. Another cut of the eyes brought a smile as Arya dove under a sword's swing only to slice the man's stomach with her own.

But a man was rushing behind her and brandishing his morningstar for a strike. It was nothing for Gendry to sidestep and cripple the man. Arya whipped around as the man cried out. Her Needle found the man's neck instantly and he was dead before he had finished falling to the ground. Gendry watched her face and nearly held his breath as her eyes moved from the man up to him. Her face glowed in the firelight, speckled by blood and dirt, mouth parted with heavy breaths. She was beautiful.

He almost reached up to stroke her cheek, but vibrations shook the air around them, and Gendry turned his head to see that a gate had been thrown open, and more guards were pouring into the courtyard. By the time he turned back around, Arya had already moved. She dashed fearlessly over to Enos and ripped the pack from his back before shoving it in Gendry's arms.

He knew what she would say before her mouth opened. "Take it and go!"

Gendry shook his head and made to shove the pack back in her arms, but Arya, always holding a hidden strength that Gendry never expected, pushed it back to him.

"We can hold them off. There, through that door."

"I can't!" Gendry shreaked in hoarseness.

Arya gritted her teeth, eyes locked to his as her small hand rose to grip his hair harshly and pull him down until his forehead connected with hers. "You can and you will." Gendry felt the breath of her words on his lips. "I came here to free you. I always get what I come for."

And with that, she released his hair only to place the hand on his chest and shove him towards the door. Before Gendry could give a response, she had turned again to the fray. 

It all became a blur for Gendry, from the spinning of his head and the tears that were clouding his vision. The pack was slung over his back as he cast one more look at Arya and the fury etched into her features as she took down any guard who came her way. Ripping his eyes away brought on a yell from his tired lungs as he dove into the doorway.

Darkness filled his sight now, but he felt along the stone wall. Something in the back of his mind kicked him for not asking the way, but it had been the last thing on his mind. And surely one of the two would have warned him of any dangers that could be waiting, so he pressed on. Soon, after following the passage around some corners, an orange light could be seen underneath a doorway. It drew closer. Closer. Quickened steps drew Gendry to it's threshold and he pulled the latch to allow the door to swing open.

A small rank of men were found to be standing on the other side, three of them manning a small trebuchet. Gendry stepped forward just in time to watch them loading what appeared to be a pitch soaked burlap sack onto the machine. It was lit with a torch and one of the men pulled the latch to send it soaring up over the wall.

A few more steps forward caught their attention, and Gendry soon found himself relieved of the pack.

Two more held Gendry under his shoulders and began to quickly usher him away from the walls. "Where's Arya and Enos?" one of them asked, casting a look back to the doorway.

Gendry shook his head, mouth open to explain, but it was cut off by a loud roar.

The men spun around, watching the black hole that was now smoking. Another roar.

And then there was Enos galloping through, Arya clinging to his back and looking very much like a small child compared to the large man. Enos never slowed his pace, but ran at breakneck speed until he was close to passing them.

"Let's go!" he bellowed through an unmistakable grin, and then did pass them. "You bastards lit the main hall!"

A round of cheers erupted around Gendry. But his attention was solely fixed on Arya's limp form, seemingly using all of her strength to hold onto Enos.

Gendry was ushered in the same direction, further away from the keep and across the open expanse between the walls and the forest. Arrows stuck in the ground around them from time to time, but he assumed that the vast majority of the guards were frantically trying to extinguish the flames.

They kept running, always following the horse of a man who lead the retreat. Gendry let himself lean on the men to either side of him as exhaustion began to set in. The weeks without regular meals were beginning to take their toll. He was nearly depleted when suddenly he was being hoisted upwards onto a horse. Never had he been so thankful to ride! But before he could even gain his own balance, the horse was being smacked into a run, leaving Gendry to grip onto the saddle for dear life.

When he dared to open his eyes, he discovered that the horse was following three others through the forest. How the horse not only knew the direction, but managed to pick it's way through the trees and brush, Gendry could never quite guess. But it didn't matter now, he was free, and he was with  _ her _ again.

They seemed to travel throughout the rest of the night, and Gendry surprised himself when he found that his eyes had slipped shut a time or two. By the time the sky had just begun to glow with the morning's light he found that his horse was plodding into a large clearing. Makeshift shelters and tents were scattered around it, as was the people that seemed to occupy them. Gendry saw all sorts, from men and women, to elderly and children. Even pets and livestock seemed to call the place home. 

Some of the men had moved forward to still the horses as the riders dismounted. One of them, a thin lad with bright blond hair, took the reins of Gendry's mount as he slowly swung himself down.

"Thank you." Gendry nodded as he continued to take in his surroundings. "I take it this is the Brotherhood?"

"Aye, we are!" the young man grinned, showing a set of spaced teeth.

"And Arya leads you?" Gendry found himself asking before he could stop himself.

"Who else!" came the enthusiastic response as the blond head nodded over towards the towering form of Enos.

He was pulling Arya down from her horse. She seemed to have a little more strength from the night before, but still allowed the man to carry her across the clearing. Soon, a man in maester's robes hurried forward to meet them. He spoke a few words to Arya and looked at length at one of her legs before motioning for Enos to follow him.

"If you'd like, I can get you a meal and a change of clothes, milord." Gendry heard the young man offer.

"Uh, no thank you." Gendry muttered, keeping his eyes on Arya's brown hair as it disappeared into a large tent. "And please, Gendry is fine."

Patting the boy's shoulder as he passed, Gendry pushed away the soreness in his thighs and started towards the tent. It all felt so overwhelming and he almost felt drunk as he picked his way through the crowd of people who were making their way toward the homecoming party. 

Slow steps eventually brought him to the opening of the tent, a scratchy voice carrying through the open flaps before he even stepped inside.

“Up on this table, Enos. Let’s have a look.”

“That’s the last time I turn my back on you, Boss.”

“And that’s the last time I leave you to retrieve a hostage. Did you have to kill every guard you crossed?”

Gendry slipped softly inside the dim space. It was definitely a maester’s tent, tables holding concoctions and herbs lined the sides, with a long table in the middle surrounded by several lanterns. It was then that he finally got his first long look at Arya since leaving her in the courtyard. One whole side of her head had hair that was matted down with blood and dirt, and a large red patch covered one of her shoulders. He noticed one of her boots had been removed which allowed for the maester to poke and prod at the swollen ankle.

“Did you at least get what you ran off to find?” Enos huffed, arms crossed as he paced beside the table.

Gendry was nearly surprised when Arya’s eyes turned over to him, cutting through him in that way that she had always been able to do. “I always get what I come for.” she stated firmly.

“Well it doesn’t appear to be broken.” the scrawny maester stated, causing Arya to break the hold she had on him. “A bad sprain and nothing more. But keep off of it unless you want more damage done.”

“Good.” Enos said in a very exaggerated voice, nudging Arya’s shoulder before making for the tent opening. “I’ll go make sure that load is seen to.”

Stepping out of the way of the large man, Gendry allowed his eyes to return to Arya, finding that her’s were already on him.

“Harmen, could you excuse us?” Arya asked the maester, earning a cordial “of course” as the man ducked out of the flaps as well.

Arya sat up a little straighter on the table. “Well, welcome back to the Brotherhood, Gendry.” she said simply.

He couldn’t believe it. He had been trying to place the pieces together the entire night’s ride. Arriving at the camp had connected it all for him but, hearing it from her own mouth, Gendry found himself unable to quite react. Instead, he ran a hand over his exhausted face and stepped over to the table. “The...Brotherhood.”

“It is.” she affirmed. “My brotherhood.”

Gendry clenched his jaw and leaned forwards to flatten his palms on the table, facing her dead on. “So you mean to tell me that when you disappeared from known society, it was to resurrect the bloody Brotherhood?!” the last words definitely came out harsher than he had intended. But if he expected it to effect Arya, then that would mean that he had forgotten everything he knew of her. And he could never do that.

“I did.” Arya again replied without waver.

"And you're hiding out here in the woods and putting your life in danger for what? Some noble cause?!” Gendry was near shouting now, and he knew that his face must be as red as the blood on her shirt.

But, true to form, Arya never flinched. At least not from him. Instead, she slowly shifted her legs around so that they hung off of the table and lowered herself off of it just as slowly. Gendry felt his heart slow the smallest bit as he watched her lean on the table to walk around it, wincing when she was forced to put any weight on her injured foot. But when she came to the end and made to move towards the tent’s opening, it took no thought at all for Gendry to step to her side and give her his arm.

He nearly thought that he saw a smile form in the corners of her mouth as she leaned against him. Arya, his little Arry, always small enough that she weighed less than nothing to him, and yet her wellbeing was the largest burden on his heart. Slowly he walked beside her until they were close enough for her to pull back the flaps. Sunlight flooded in and Gendry blinked a few times before he was able to see what lay outside. 

The same bustle and hum of people moved about the canvas structure. Women walked with large baskets and sacks, men lead livestock and carried their tools while laughing loudly at jokes, children chased chickens and all the while men moved among them with weapons in hand.

"Not some cause. I fight for the people. My people." came her gentle voice beside him. "Look at them, Gendry. They've all lost their homes, either to war or debt. Some of them even have prices on their heads. That bag you carried out for us? Full of coin that will buy us provisions for another month at least."

"But things are better with Bran." he found himself arguing, though his eyes stayed on a small sandy haired boy who ran about brandishing a small wooden hammer.

"Even he can't be everywhere at once. He has the lords and ladies holding his attention. But who is there to see to them?" she asked softly, gesturing once again to the bustling community outside of the tent.

He stood with her and watched, and standing with her felt so right that he didn't catch his own actions until arm was around her waist, hand firm on her hip. Gendry stilled, but only felt her lean closer into him.

"I did love you, you know?" she asked softly. Gendry felt his strength leaving him, and not just from the eventful night before.

"Do you still?" came his own soft question.

Her head pressed against his chest. "I saved you, didn't I?"

"But you left."

Arya let out a breath, and suddenly she felt so much smaller against him. "My family was safe. My job was done, so I needed to find a new one."

"A new job, or a new family."

"Both."

"Arya," The words flowed so easily it was as if he had been rehearsing them. "Can I be in your new family."

"You've always been my family." 

Gendry had only enough time to look down at her before she was leaning up to press her lips to his. It was quick and gentle, as perfect as he remembered, and when she pulled away he found his heart racing for an entirely different reason. Suddenly he couldn’t help himself, and he circled both arms around her waist taking all of her weight upon himself as he allowed his face to become lost in her wonderful hair.

“But what about the Stormlands?” he heard her ask as her own lithe arms wrapped around his neck. Fuck the Stormlands.

“Who cares. I’m a shit lord anyways. Can’t even keep from getting kidnapped.”


End file.
